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How to Manage Your Time When It Comes to Work and School

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If you’re a student with many obligations, like working a full-time job or raising children (or both), schoolwork may feel like a dauting and overwhelming task. Luckily, balancing your different responsibilities doesn’t have to be impossible. With a little effort and strategy, you can learn to manage your time more effectively, allowing you to pursue a college degree without sacrificing work or quality time with family and friends. Like many people, you likely own a smartphone, which means you may be taking a lot of time out of your day to check social media, text friends and answer personal phone calls. While interacting with the world is generally a good thing, spending hours scrolling your Facebook and Instagram feeds can take valuable time away from you without providing real fulfillment or helping you meet your goals. If staying off your phone while you’re at work or studying is a challenge, try setting your phone to airplane mode. This will keep your phone offline and prevent you from sending and receiving calls and texts. Even the most hectic and busy day can become easier if you plan it ahead. Your to-do list can be as detailed and fixed or as fluid as you need it to be. The idea here is to be organized and in control of your time, not the other way around. For example, if you plan to study on a day you have to work, you can schedule some time for this either before or after work. However, if you decide at the last minute you’d rather do schoolwork on another day, have some alternatives in place like doing a load of laundry or shopping for groceries. This way you’ll avoid leaving everything for the last minute (which can be overwhelming and affect your productivity). You may have heard successful people are those who can multitask. However, reality shows this couldn’t be further from the truth. Paradoxically, when you try to “do it all,” you end up getting nothing done. As a busy student, you may feel compelled to do a few things at the same time, thinking it’s the smart and efficient thing to do. This is understandable, but keep in mind that trying to “do it all” may result in getting nothing done. shows our brains simply aren’t wired to effectively handle more than one task at a time. So next time you study for a test, read your textbook or work on an assignment, make sure you’re not trying to do something else simultaneously like cook dinner, scroll social media or chat with a friend. Although your significant other and children won’t be able to study for you, there are several other things they can help you with if you feel you’re running out of time. It may be tempting to prove to yourself you can do it all—work, run a home and go to school—but this is often untrue and unnecessary. There’s nothing wrong with asking others for help to free up some time for schoolwork or a well-deserved break. Even the strongest and most organized people will become tired and stressed if they neglect to take time off from their everyday responsibilities. Prioritizing relaxation and self-care when you’re super busy isn’t a luxury—it’s actually necessary if you want to avoid burnout and exhaustion. Taking time off doesn’t have to involve days or weeks of vacation. It can be as little as taking 30 minutes out of your day to go for a walk or meditate. You can also set aside one day in a week that’s completely free from work and study. You can spend this day as you wish and indulge in the things you love, such as spending time with family, taking a road trip or simply binge watching your favorite show. When you enroll at the St. Louis College of Health Careers in Missouri, you automatically gain access to which include several academic resources that can help you balance your studies, work and personal life. Our dedicated academic advisors are here to offer personalized mentorship and academic tools tailored to your unique situation. To explore our diverse healthcare programs, or call 866-529-2070.

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Understanding Human Biology is Important for Healthcare Careers

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Understanding human biology is fundamental to having a successful healthcare career. Whether you aspire to become a doctor, nurse, physical therapist or medical assistant, you won’t be able to earn a degree without showing competency in your chosen field. Having at least a basic knowledge of human biology may help you more easily grasp diagnostic and treatment concepts that will be relevant in your education and ultimately enable you to make more informed decisions that keep your patients safe. The good news is you don’t have to major in human biology if you want to work in the healthcare field, especially if you’re not particularly interested in spending the better part of a decade pursuing a doctorate. For instance, if your goal is to become a physical therapy assistant, you can enroll in an associate-degree PTA program with coursework focused on aspects of human biology relevant to your profession, such as human anatomy and physiology. Human biology is a branch of biology that is focused on the scientific study of the human organism. Studying human biology sheds light on how our bodies work, how they’ve evolved over time and how we interact with our physical environment. Some medical professionals, especially doctors, need to have a deep and comprehensive understanding of human biology, however those pursuing more focused roles in the medical field like phlebotomy or physical and occupational therapy usually only need to focus on certain aspects of the discipline relevant to their profession. All of these systems work together to ensure the human body works correctly and keeps various diseases and medical conditions at bay. A respiratory therapist works under the supervision of a doctor and treats patients who are having trouble breathing. Their duties include giving patients oxygen, managing ventilators and administering medication to the lungs. To become a respiratory therapist, students must learn different aspects of human biology, with an emphasis on the respiratory and cardiovascular systems. A phlebotomist’s primary job is to draw blood from patients and send it off to medical labs for testing. Most phlebotomy programs include coursework which focuses on exploring the lymphatic and cardiovascular systems. A physical therapy assistant works under the supervision of a physical therapist and treats patients through exercise, massage and stretching. To become a physical therapy assistant, you’ll need to have an in-depth understanding of the skeletal and muscular systems. An occupational therapy assistant works under the supervision of an occupational therapist helping patients regain or develop the ability to perform everyday tasks, such as eating, getting dressed and bathing. Similar to a physical therapy assistant, an occupational therapy assistant must study the skeletal and muscular systems, but also the nervous system. If you’re looking to leap into the ever-growing and ever-evolving field of healthcare, but you’re not sure which career is right for you, consider studying at the St. Louis College of Health Careers. We offer a variety of accredited and flexible that allow you to work at your own pace and gain valuable hands-on experience without spending years in school. Browse the opportunities we offer and reach out to us with any questions you may have by calling 866-529-2070.